The LUMIOSE Team (PLOT)

"Brilliant idea," Looker complimented the plan as he caught on to where Vitaly was going with his thoughts.

"So what would be the ideal plan, then?" Giovanni tried to coax the rest of the plan out of him with a smile. "I'm eager to get to somewhere more defensible."

The approval of the older men had startled him a moment, and he was almost glad when Miranda spoke up to ask, "I don't see how having them come after us helps. Unless you have some kind of ambush in mind?"

"Not an ambush, my dear, but close! A distraction." Looker took over explaining the finer details, and Vitaly let him answer the question. "There's no way of knowing who or what or how many, exactly, is in that tower; just that they're clearly not paying attention. But the rest of the thugs in this city are going to notice the carnage we left behind eventually, and if we have a small group causing some mayhem elsewhere, then they'll deploy people. It'd probably behoove us to get a little closer to the Tower first, before splitting up, and of course, we also need to decide who's going where."

Afterwards, Vitaly explained the finer details of his distraction idea, including how this distraction should bring Ness and Raist out where they could be rescued. Since the Pokemon were often used as canon fodder against other Pokemon, then a Pokemon causing problems would be the perfect bait to bring them out. Here he better explained what they would be looking for: A Houndemn, which was a pokemon that looked like a Houndoom but with more bones and bigger, and a Delphox.

Siyal volunteered to be part of the distraction; his presence would once again aggravate the locals, and with their ground-type trump card gone, they'd have to hope that Ness's dark typing would work in their favor. Of course, he knew that it wouldn't. Ness was far too timid to actually attack Siyal of all things. The other reason he was going was that he would make getting Jude's Pokemon to come along so much easier. They would be wary of new people, of course, and Vitaly really needed to be part of the group breaking into the tower. He also offered to give the two humans going with him a lift if they needed it.

Once the plan had been figured out, they started heading towards the tower again. Unfortunately, a collapsed building and a fallen tree blocked their current path, so they turned around to try another route. Drizzt and Siyal's ears perked as they picked up on something, but before they could warn the others, even the humans could hear what it was. An Army truck. Vitaly cursed under his breath as he backed away with his arm out to prevent someone from accidentally going around him, and he followed Looker into a nearby shop.

Vitaly grabbed Pelor off of Siyal's back as Siyal ducked into the door. He hadn't figured out his ghostly form enough to know how to phase through walls yet. Unfortunately, his fire, though dim in comparison to his flames as a Rapidash, still gave off a glow. Vitaly's eyes glanced over the windows, and thankfully, most of them were boarded up. Even when night fell, they wouldn't be compromised by the "living" light source.

Once everyone was inside, Vitaly remained tense as he listened for the sounds of the car. He nearly jumped and dropped the Larvesta when Looker said, "I suppose we'll be here awhile. We have no way of knowing how long that truck will be hanging around the area..."

Deciding it was safe enough for now, Vitaly deposited Pelor beside Siyal, and ruffled the fluff on the Larvesta's head to help him relax a little. Turning to face Looker, all he could say was, "I dunno. We probably want to keep guard... just in case." Granted, that was already the plan; Drizzt's eyes were very much on the door, and his feathered ears were on alert. "... Though if they're just driving through to go back to their base, we're probably safe here for the night."

With somewhat of a plan in place the group had set out only to be deterred by minor inconveniences as they traveled through the broken remains of her former home. Miranda was heartsick to see so much left to waste away when all of her memories of this city were of its lights and grandeur. She didn't want to believe that everything she loved could be so fragile, so broken, that there was no hope of ever returning it to the way it was.

So lost in her melancholy she barely registered the approaching threat until everyone ducked into a nearby shop to hide from the oncoming truck. She followed Mr. Don almost on autopilot until everyone settled down, quiet as they waited for any sign the truck would be moving on. "I suppose we'll be here awhile. We have no way of knowing how long that truck will be hanging around the area..." Looker eventually resigned, still seemingly unsure if it was even safe. They would have to keep their voices down and keep well hidden or else they might get spotted. Easy enough for most of them but some of the pokemon...they were less than subtle.

"I dunno. We probably want to keep guard... just in case. ... Though if they're just driving through to go back to their base, we're probably safe here for the night." Hopefully that was the case. In any event Miranda returned to Giovanni's side and sat vigil with him, worried as he began to show signs of fatigue once more. What was going to become of them?

((Edited because I finally had the ability to write a freaking post and doing everything AFTER the fact was too hard so edited this one))

Last edited by Phoenix on Tue Mar 26, 2019 11:45 am; edited 1 time in total

"I dunno. We probably want to keep guard... just in case." Looker nodded, noting Drizzt was way ahead of them in that department. "... Though if they're just driving through to go back to their base, we're probably safe here for the night."

"I definitely hope so. It'd aid us a lot if their upset over this afternoon doesn't become an issue until tomorrow," he sighed, slinging his bag off and sitting down, wincing a little. Wow, he hadn't realized how sore his feet were until now. "It would be nice if we didn't have to create a new scene and could just use yesterday's to kick off tomorrow's plan..."

Reaching into his bag, he dug around inside. "I suppose now is a good time to eat. We have quite the day ahead of us-"

Having glanced up while rooting around in his pack, he blinked. "Tomorrow..."

The thing that caught his eye was a display case, the firelight from Siyal bouncing off a glittery object within. Looker had half been expecting a stone of some sort; maybe they'd sheltered in a jewelry store, or one of those stores that sold evolutionary stones.

But no, it was a... pokeball? A glittery pokeball. Looker glanced around, spotting a number of shelves with pokeballs sitting on them. Special ones resided in display cases. There were even a few bookshelves and a few chairs for people to sit in. Maybe to provide something to read while waiting for a store clerk to help them? He tilted his head a little.

"I definitely hope so. I'd aid us a lot if their upset over this afternoon doesn't become an issue until tomorrow," Looker agreed as he sat down and swung his bag off his shoulders. Vitaly noted the wince, and felt a little bad for the older man. "It would be nice if we didn't have to create a new scene and could just use yesterday's to kick off tomorrow's plan...""I suppose now is a good time to eat. We have quite the day ahead of us-" Looker started to forage around in his bag as he continued talking, when something caught his eye and stopped the train of thought. "Tomorrow..." Curious as to what had distracted Looker, Vitaly wandered over to look. It was one of the stranger pokeballs that he had heard about from Father Jude. He hadn't been able to see a lot of the ones he had talked about, but he knew they were a thing. The Father had even helped him get a Dusk ball for Drizzt, and explained Pelor's Luxury ball and Lidda's Premier ball. "Huh. I didn't know there were special stores just for pokeballs."

Vitaly could sense the obvious question, but his limited experiences with stores had all happened after the Epidemic had started. Giovanni and Miranda were much more likely to have answers to the question, and hoping they distracted Looker from the fact he didn't give a response, he walked over to a short book shelf and pulled out a catalog. He couldn't get a good look at it from where he was, so he went back to Siyal and Pelor to settle down. The two older Pokemon didn't really have much to add to that conversation either, so instead, they looked over Vitaly's shoulder to glance through the book with him.

The journey had not been kind on Giovanni. He had overestimated the healing on his shoulder and it ached from all the movement the day had seen. So, as they settled in the little shop to hide away from unkind eyes, he let out a grateful sigh and rubbed it with his large palm. He feared that this would be a permanent ache in some form, especially with the unorthodox healing. At least the bullet had gone through and he didn't have to worry about some metal floating about in his body.

"I definitely hope so. I'd aid us a lot if their upset over this afternoon doesn't become an issue until tomorrow," Looker replied to... Vitaly, was the likely answer. Giovanni scolded himself for allowing his mind to flit about when there were plans being laid out. The stallion had stood vigil beside him, cautiously keeping an eye on the door; a fine sentinel, but the Mudsdale had aided in Giovanni's distraction. "It would be nice if we didn't have to create a new scene and could just use yesterday's to kick off tomorrow's plan..." Yes, though it was unlikely the sentry ants would still be on red alert through the night.

"I suppose now is a good time to eat. We have quite the day ahead of us-" Giovanni quirked a brow as something seemed to catch Looker's attention to the point where he lost his own sentence as it finished in his mouth. Giovanni's eyes flicked to follow the detective's line of sight and spotted a pokeball in a case. Not an ordinary poke ball, though, from the odd colors he spied through the dimly lit glass. "Tomorrow..."

Vitaly seemed just as curious as to what caught Looker's fascination so completely, and Giovanni stood to join the detective, minding his shoulder, of course. Upon closer inspection, Giovanni recognized the marvel as a Heal Ball. "Huh. I didn't know there were special stores just for pokeballs."

"There were stores for just about anything you could imagine, my good man," Giovanni chuckled as he straightened from the small lean. "With the rise in specialized Poke Balls, I'm more surprised that these stores didn't spread further. I can't recall any in my home region... but in a place like this, a little boutique for spoiling pokemon seems right at home." He chuckled as he looked around the shelves a little more carefully; a poke ball store would have been one of the last places raided by desperate survivors. Perhaps there was something else here of value...?

Miranda watched over Giovanni dutifully as Looker and Vitaly quietly conversed about their situation. From what little she heard they would be staying here overnight, not a terrible plan given her guardian's current state, but it was still risky. They had several people and pokemon in one small shop, that was a dangerous situation for trying to avoid detection. "Huh. I didn't know there were special stores just for pokeballs."

The random sentiment caught both hers and Giovanni's attention it seemed. The older man sat up a bit and followed Looker's gaze to the display cases nearby and her own smile began to return at the look of wonder on the kind man's face. "There were stores for just about anything you could imagine, my good man," Giovanni answered with a small laugh. "With the rise in specialized Poke Balls, I'm more surprised that these stores didn't spread further. I can't recall any in my home region... but in a place like this, a little boutique for spoiling pokemon seems right at home."

"It may have been because each region had their own uses for Poke Balls. Here they were a fashion statement, but I have always envied the Capsules in Sinnoh. Adding stickers and effects to Poke Balls so when you called for your companion they would be accompanied by dazzling effects...." Miranda's face was one of distant happiness, as though remembering a feeling rather than experiencing it in the present. Back before this living nightmare they all shared she had such dreams of travel, of adventure. But now...? "Such a shame they never made it here before the plague. The fashionistas of Lumiose would have taken the Poke Ball shop by storm."

"There were stores for just about anything you could imagine, my good man," Giovanni said, laughing. Looker perked up further. "With the rise in specialized Poke Balls, I'm more surprised that these stores didn't spread further. I can't recall any in my home region... but in a place like this, a little boutique for spoiling pokemon seems right at home."

"It may have been because each region had their own uses for Poke Balls," Miranda mused. Each region treated Pokeballs differently? "Here they were a fashion statement, but I have always envied the Capsules in Sinnoh. Adding stickers and effects to Poke Balls so when you called for your companion they would be accompanied by dazzling effects...."

Stickers? Effects? What kind of effects? Couldn't anyone put stickers on their pokeballs? In fact, Looker recalled, he remembered the girl who had found him that day on the beach talking about using stickers so she could reach into her pocket and know what pokeball she was touching just by the feel of the sticker. "A friend gave me the idea," she'd explained in answering his curious head tilt when she said the stickers helped identify which pokemon was which without even looking. "Use a different sticker for each pokeball, and you can sort of feel the edges of the stickers when you reach inside your pocket. Might be a little slow at first, but you get fast it really quick."

But she'd never said anything about effects. Maybe that had something to do with these capsule things?

"Such a shame they never made it here before the plague," the girl lamanted. "The fashionistas of Lumiose would have taken the Poke Ball shop by storm."

"The girl who found me after whatever happened to my memory- she tried to teach me things about Pokemon. But she was so young and there was so much about- everything, and I didn't want her to put her life on hold for me. So after a little while, I told her not to worry about me, and that I'd be fine without her guidance." He sighed. "It... it was the right decision, it really was, but sometimes I regret it. There's still so much I don't know, and I took for granted the thought that I could just... learn later, after first unearthing the truth about what happened to me. I can't even begin to guess what you mean by capsules, or why Lumiose would have been storming the shop to get at them."

Ah no, he didn't want to make this sad! And he didn't especially want to feel sad, himself. He sat up straighter with a smile. "I'd love to learn now, though! If you'd be willing, Miss Miranda?"

Vitaly listened to the others converse as he looked over the catalog book. He chose to remain quiet since he didn't have much to contribute, but he thought it prudent to keep an ear on the conversation. "There were stores for just about anything you could imagine, my good man," Giovanni explained with a small laugh. He began to browse the shelves nearer to Looker as he continued talking, "With the rise in specialized Poke Balls, I'm more surprised that these stores didn't spread further. I can't recall any in my home region... but in a place like this, a little boutique for spoiling pokemon seems right at home."

"It may have been because each region had their own uses for Poke Balls. Here they were a fashion statement, but I have always envied the Capsules in Sinnoh. Adding stickers and effects to Poke Balls so when you called for your companion they would be accompanied by dazzling effects...." Miranda reminisced. He hadn't heard about capsules before, so he looked up briefly in curiosity. "Such a shame they never made it here before the plague. The fashionistas of Lumiose would have taken the Poke Ball shop by storm."

"The girl who found me after whatever happened to my memory- she tried to teach me things about Pokemon. But she was so young and there was so much about- everything, and I didn't want her to put her life on hold for me. So after a little while, I told her not to worry about me, and that I'd be fine without her guidance," Looker said in response, and Vitaly felt like he missed something. He felt Pelor shift under his arm, and he looked down at the bug's face to see that he was also a little confused. Looker continued to ramble along that line of thought. "It... it was the right decision, it really was, but sometimes I regret it. There's still so much I don't know, and I took for granted the thought that I could just... learn later, after first unearthing the truth about what happened to me. I can't even begin to guess what you mean by capsules, or why Lumiose would have been storming the shop to get at them." As if to change the subject to something a little less gloomy, he asked Miranda, "I'd love to learn now, though! If you'd be willing, Miss Miranda?"

"It may have been because each region had their own uses for Poke Balls," Miss LeClair began. Giovanni smiled as her bright enthusiasm shone out once more. Good. "Here they were a fashion statement, but I have always envied the Capsules in Sinnoh. Adding stickers and effects to Poke Balls so when you called for your companion they would be accompanied by dazzling effects...." Giovanni paused in his perusing, tempted by his ward's nostalgic tone. He'd completely forgotten about those. "Such a shame they never made it here before the plague. The fashionistas of Lumiose would have taken the Poke Ball shop by storm."

Giovanni let out a small, light-hearted chuckle at her sentiment. "I believe you're right, Miss LeClair. I doubt they would have caught on in Kanto. People were a mite too pragmatic there for such frivolity, unfortunately."

"The girl who found me after whatever happened to my memory- she tried to teach me things about Pokemon." Giovanni turned to watch Looker as he recounted one of his few memories, eager to hear what the man could recall. "But she was so young and there was so much about- everything, and I didn't want her to put her life on hold for me. So after a little while, I told her not to worry about me, and that I'd be fine without her guidance." The mob boss' eyes narrowed a little as he picked apart each word said in his mind. "So young"? What kind of child had plucked a drowned amnesiac off a beach and made him her responsibility? He had mentioned Hoenn, and Giovanni's acquaintances were few and far between there... This mystery girl was likely someone unknown to him. Still, that kind of attitude sounded like the young man that had bested him all those years ago.

"It... it was the right decision, it really was, but sometimes I regret it. There's still so much I don't know, and I took for granted the thought that I could just... learn later, after first unearthing the truth about what happened to me. I can't even begin to guess what you mean by capsules, or why Lumiose would have been storming the shop to get at them." It was almost pathetic, watching Looker lament his former life. Almost. As if to change the subject to something a little less gloomy, he asked Miranda, "I'd love to learn now, though! If you'd be willing, Miss Miranda?"

"I believe you're right, Miss LeClair. I doubt they would have caught on in Kanto. People were a mite too pragmatic there for such frivolity, unfortunately." Miranda chuckled softly at Giovanni's observation and nodded at her guardian. While she hadn't met many Kantonians the few she had tended to be far more traditional, though some not as extreme as their Johto cousins. Something about those two regions though called out for modesty and convention that tended to stick out in a place like Kalos.

"The girl who found me after whatever happened to my memory- she tried to teach me things about Pokemon." For a moment Miranda felt sorry for bringing up such things. Surely she wouldn't want to be reminded of how much she had forgotten if she ever lost her memories. It must be so humiliating... Should she apologize? "But she was so young and there was so much about- everything, and I didn't want her to put her life on hold for me. So after a little while, I told her not to worry about me, and that I'd be fine without her guidance." It didn't help he still seemed so distraught about it. Maybe she really should apologize.

"It... it was the right decision, it really was, but sometimes I regret it. There's still so much I don't know, and I took for granted the thought that I could just... learn later, after first unearthing the truth about what happened to me. I can't even begin to guess what you mean by capsules, or why Lumiose would have been storming the shop to get at them." Opening her mouth a couple of times Miranda attempted to form a coherent apology to make up for dragging such melancholy out of the older gentleman but found the words impossible. Almost as if answering a prayer, however, Looker quickly changed the subject and found that spark of cheer that had begun to wander out of his eyes taking a great weight off of Miranda.

"I'd love to learn now, though! If you'd be willing, Miss Miranda?" With a happy nod and shy smile the young Kalosian agreed, clutching one hand to her chest as though about to take an oath. "I would be happy to, Mr. Looker. Since we will be here for the evening we can even start with basic Poke Balls and work our way up to the more complex forms like capsules and seals. Mr. Don is well learned on the ones back from his homeland as well, ones even I haven't seen before. We can learn together!" That should make it easier on him, rather than embarrassing. Right?

He saw the subtle shifts in expression in those around him as he talked about Sapphire but the words poured out anyway. He was too used to talking to himself. When one was alone, one could talk aloud about anything as much as one wanted. But now there were people around. And he really needed to start getting used to that and keeping his thoughts in his head, where they belonged.

Thankfully, the sweet young lady handled it gracefully, turning to look to him with a big smile one hand over her heart. "I would be happy to, Mr. Looker. Since we will be here for the evening we can even start with basic Poke Balls and work our way up to the more complex forms like capsules and seals. Mr. Don is well learned on the ones back from his homeland as well, ones even I haven't seen before. We can learn together!"

"That sounds wonderful!" he said, reflecting her smile back at her, and with some amount of ease, too-- her eagerness was infectious, and he really did want to learn. "I never would have imagined pokeballs to be so complicated. It's crazy enough that they store living creatures in the form of light, but that there's variations? It's- admittedly a little overwhelming, but still, very interesting! The young lady taught me a little about the three standard balls-- pokeballs, great balls, ultra balls. If I remember right, the only real difference between them besides their design is a slightly better chance of capture, right?" He looked at each of them, an invitation for anyone to join in the conversation. Vitaly had been quiet, and he wanted to let the boy speak too. And Giovanni seemed so strong and sure of himself, so comfortable with these fantastical creatures-- he'd love the man's opinion about various pokemon-related topics, too.

"I believe you're right, Miss LeClair. I doubt they would have caught on in Kanto. People were a mite too pragmatic there for such frivolity, unfortunately." Vitaly wasn't entirely sure on that, since Kanto was right next to Johto, which was apparently well known for having a lot of different Pokeball varieties. However, he certainly wasn't going to argue with a Kanto native on that. It wasn't like he actually knew Kanto's culture or any other region's. He barely knew what was considered normal for Orre.

Miranda handled the awkwardness with grace; she put her hand over her chest in earnest as she responded, "I would be happy to, Mr. Looker. Since we will be here for the evening we can even start with basic Poke Balls and work our way up to the more complex forms like capsules and seals. Mr. Don is well learned on the ones back from his homeland as well, ones even I haven't seen before. We can learn together!"

"That sounds wonderful!" Looker reflected the smile she had given him. "I never would have imagined pokeballs to be so complicated. It's crazy enough that they store living creatures in the form of light, but that there's variations? It's- admittedly a little overwhelming, but still, very interesting! The young lady taught me a little about the three standard balls-- pokeballs, great balls, ultra balls. If I remember right, the only real difference between them besides their design is a slightly better chance of capture, right?" The last question was pointed towards the whole room, and Vitaly internally debated about answering. He wasn't sure how well he would be able to bullshit his minimal knowledge of Pokeballs... Well, he was from Orre, and due to the minimal amount of wild Pokemon there, it would make sense that he didn't know a whole lot about different Pokeballs.

"Yeah, that's about right," Vitaly said carefully. "Won't be able to tell you too much else; Orre wasn't really known for having special Pokeballs. You could only find them if you had money and dug around for the right seller." This was partially based on what little he had seen, what Father Jude had told him when they had gone looking for a Pokeball for Drizzt, and a few guesses on his part. Hopefully this would absolve him from having to take the lead on the conversation at any point. Miranda seemed like she was eager enough, but he wanted to cover his own bases.